Associate Vice President – Finance Business Process & Systems Lead

Position Summary

The Associate Vice President serves as the senior techno-functional leader for the firm’s core finance operations spanning Accounting, Accounts Receivable, Billing, and Payroll, together with the reporting and data integrity that underpin them. Sitting at the intersection of finance and technology within the Finance Process & Operations (FPO) team, the role owns the process and systems landscape for these functions and sets the strategy for how AI, automation, and emerging technology create value across them.

As the AI and technology champion for these functions, the AVP defines where automation and AI deliver the highest return, maintains a prioritized portfolio of use cases, and establishes the governance needed to adopt new technology safely. The role pairs this forward-looking mandate with deep accountability for data integrity and controls - ensuring accuracy, auditability, and compliance across record-to-report and order-to-cash processes.

The AVP is a trusted strategic partner to finance leadership, translating business goals into a technology and process roadmap and representing these functions in firmwide initiatives. The role leads a team of FPO staff and consultants through agile delivery, manages risk and exposure across the domain, and communicates progress and trade-offs to senior leadership. Success requires the judgment to balance strategic transformation with the day-to-day realities of finance operations, and the influence to drive outcomes across a broad set of stakeholders.

In-Office Requirement: 4 days a week

Primary Responsibilities

AI/Technology Champion & Strategic Partnership (~25%)

• Serve as the AI and technology champion for the GL, AR, Billing, and Payroll functions, setting the vision for where AI and automation create the most value and driving adoption across the teams
• Maintain a prioritized portfolio of AI and automation use cases, applying a value-to-effort lens to sequence investment toward the highest-return initiatives
• Establish lightweight governance for AI use in finance - covering data usage, access, model validation, and human oversight - in partnership with GTS and risk functions
• Act as a trusted strategic partner to finance leadership, translating business goals into a technology and process roadmap for the domain and surfacing risks, opportunities, and trade-offs
• Serve as the senior business owner and SME representing these functions in cross-functional and firmwide initiatives, influencing priorities and resourcing without direct authority over all stakeholders
• Stay current on emerging AI, low-code/no-code, and finance-technology trends, evaluating their fit and redesigning roles and processes around AI capability as routine work is automated

Process Ownership & Data Integrity (~20%)

• Own the end-to-end record-to-report and order-to-cash process landscape across GL, AR, Billing, and Payroll, and the systems that support them
• Champion data integrity across these functions, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and consistency of financial data and standard data definitions with clear ownership
• Oversee the control framework for the domain, including GL and subledger reconciliations and SOX process and control documentation, partnering with audit
• Drive standardization and modernization of core workflows - billing and receivables, payroll accounting, journal entry, and reconciliations - to compress close timelines and reduce manual error
• Ensure system changes preserve controls, auditability, and compliance with GAAP and SOX across the domain

Project & Delivery Execution (~20%)

• Lead delivery of technology and process initiatives across the domain, from discovery and fit-gap through design, build, UAT, deployment, and stabilization
• Own the initiative roadmap and backlog, balancing strategic programs against day-to-day enhancement demand
• Drive fit-gap analyses, future-state process design, system integrations, and data migration for finance-systems initiatives
• Coordinate closely with GTS on build, QA, and technical delivery, serving as the bridge between business vision and technical execution
• Manage initiative scope, dependencies, and timelines, holding delivery to quality standards and deadlines

Team Oversight & Agile Leadership (~20%)

• Lead and develop a team spanning FPO staff and consultants, providing direction, coaching, and timely performance feedback
• Run the domain’s agile delivery - backlog refinement, sprint planning, and prioritization - and foster an agile, continuous-improvement mindset
• Set standards for service delivery, quality control, and support across the team
• Manage vendor and consultant relationships, scaling resourcing to the initiative portfolio
• Allocate people and resources across multiple concurrent projects to deliver high-quality outcomes on time

Risk Mitigation & Communication (~15%)

• Anticipate, identify, and mitigate delivery, operational, and control risks across the domain, escalating with recommended course corrections
• Manage risk and exposure appropriate to the funds, entities, and processes the domain touches, and ensure business continuity for critical operations through production support triage and resolution
• Apply firmwide compliance standards across all work and escalate issues to the appropriate point of contact
• Communicate initiative status, risks, and outcomes to finance and technology leadership, tailoring messaging to executive audiences
• Prepare and present steering-committee and leadership materials, including metrics on volume, exceptions, and delivery progress, presenting complex topics in a straightforward and concise way

Requirements

Education & Certificates

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Concentration in Accounting, Finance, Economics, Information Systems, or a related field, preferred

Professional Experience

• 7+ years of overall relevant experience, required
• Experience in finance/accounting operations, financial systems, and process improvement, with significant experience across GL, AR, Billing, and/or Payroll, preferred
• Proven experience as a business/technology lead bridging finance and GTS or development teams
• Track record leading process reengineering and finance-systems implementations across ERP and related platforms
• Demonstrated experience applying AI and automation to finance processes, with the ability to set strategy and governance, not just use the tools
• Experience with system governance, controls, change management, master data management, and data quality
• People leadership experience - managing direct reports and/or consultants - required
• Familiarity with agile delivery and tools such as Jira; Six Sigma or Lean a plus
• Background in private equity, financial services, or alternative investment operations preferred

Competencies & Attributes

• Proficiency with generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Microsoft Copilot, and a track record of applying AI to finance workflows at a strategic level
• Strong understanding of accounting principles, financial close, and data integrity and SOX controls
• Financial systems experience required across ERP and related platforms such as PeopleSoft Financials; BI and reporting tools a plus, SQL a plus
• Experience owning record-to-report and order-to-cash processes across GL, AR, Billing, and Payroll
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills across functions, seniority levels, and the broader firm
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to tailor messaging across finance, technology, and senior leadership audiences
• Advanced Excel and PowerPoint; strong presentation skills
• Excellent problem-solving and critical thinking skills with an inquisitive, forward-thinking mindset
• Demonstrated ability to lead and develop both direct reports and indirect or consultant team members
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail, able to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment

Benefits/Compensation
The compensation range for this role is specific to Washington, DC and takes into account a wide range of factors including but not limited to the skill sets required/preferred; prior experience and training; licenses and/or certifications.

The anticipated base salary range for this role is $150,000 to $170,000.

In addition to the base salary, the hired professional will enjoy a comprehensive benefits package spanning retirement benefits, health insurance, life insurance and disability, paid time off, paid holidays, family planning benefits and various wellness programs. Additionally, the hired professional may also be eligible to participate in an annual discretionary incentive program, the award of which will be dependent on various factors, including, without limitation, individual and organizational performance.

Due to the high volume of candidates, please be advised that only candidates selected to interview will be contacted by Carlyle.

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